Data replication method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A data storage system, device, and method are provided for replicating data between different data storage systems or appliances. More specifically, the present invention affords communications between heterogeneous data storage systems that potential employ different communication protocols. A bridging communication protocol is utilized by one or both storage systems in order to accommodate different communication protocols. Alternatively, a storage appliance connecting the data storage systems may employ the bridging communication protocol.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/771,384, filed Feb. 7, 2006, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference. Also, this application is related toU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/561,680, filed Nov. 20, 2006,entitled Pull Data Replication Model.

FIELD

The present invention is directed to data replication. In particular,the present invention is directed to methods and apparatuses forreplicating data between different data storage systems or appliances.

BACKGROUND

The need to store digital files, documents, pictures, images and otherdata continues to increase rapidly. In connection with the electronicstorage of data, various data storage systems have been devised for therapid and secure storage of large amounts of data. Such systems mayinclude one or a plurality of storage devices that are used in acoordinated fashion. Systems in which data can be distributed acrossmultiple storage devices such that data will not be irretrievably lostif one of the storage devices (or in some cases, more than one storagedevice) fails are also available. Systems that coordinate operation of anumber of individual storage devices can also provide improved dataaccess and/or storage times. Examples of systems that can provide suchadvantages can be found in the various RAID (redundant array ofindependent disks) levels that have been developed. Whether implementedusing one or a plurality of storage devices, the storage provided by adata storage system can be treated as one or more storage volumes.

In order to facilitate the availability of desired data, it is oftendesirable to maintain different versions of a data storage volume.Indeed, data storage systems are available that can provide at leastlimited data archiving through backup facilities and/or snapshotfacilities. These facilities can comprise automated or semi-automatedbatch replication facilities. By maintaining different versions,disaster recovery is facilitated. For example, if a virus causes acurrent storage volume version to be lost or otherwise unusable, thesystem can be rolled back to an earlier version that does not includethe file that introduced the virus. In order to further facilitate theuse and security of data, it is often desirable to create a copy of adata storage volume that is originally maintained by a first datastorage system on a second data storage system. However, creating backupcopies or snapshots of a first data storage system on a second datastorage system, commonly referred to as remote replication, introducescomplications. In particular, a data storage system that is the sourceof the data that is to be replicated must act as an initiator device inorder to move the data to the recipient data storage system that isacting as the target. However, data storage systems typically aretargets, not initiators. Furthermore, an initiator is a more complex anddifficult to implement function, requiring more intelligence andprocessing power to implement as compared to a typical target device.Accordingly, in order for a source data storage system to perform datareplication in cooperation with a remote data storage system, the sourcedata storage system must typically be enhanced to include initiatorfunctions, as well as remote replication functions.

Data replication between different storage systems is furthercomplicated where the initiator and the target data storage systems arefrom different data storage system vendors. This is because differentvendors typically use different protocols and instructions to controloperation of their data storage systems. As a result, the automated orsemi-automated batch replication of data between data storage systemsfrom different vendors is at best difficult, and is often impossible.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to solving these and other problemsand disadvantages of the prior art. In accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention, a remote batch data replication service isprovided that consists of asynchronous replication of data between alocal and a remote system through the use of snapshots. In oneembodiment, the remote batch data replication service featuresasynchronous replication of block-level data from a volume at a localdata storage system to a remote data storage system. More particularly,in a pull data replication model, the local or source data storagesystem is able to operate as a target device. In accordance with stillother embodiments of the present invention, the source and remote datastorage systems can exchange information regarding their respectivecapabilities, and can use a common protocol to enable data replicationeven where the data storage systems are from different vendors (i.e.they are heterogeneous systems).

In order to allow a source data storage system to operate as a targetdevice while replicating data to a remote or destination data storagesystem, the destination data storage system operates to pull data fromthe source data storage system. Pulling data can include making use ofdata snapshot capabilities native to the source data storage system. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, the destinationdata storage system commands the source data storage system to take afirst snapshot of the storage volume that is to be replicated. Thesource data storage system is also instructed to make the first snapshotvisible to the destination data storage system, and the destination datastorage system makes a copy of the data contained in the first snapshot.That is, the destination data storage system copies the complete datastorage volume. The destination data storage system copies all of theblocks from the first snapshot and then the destination takes asnapshot. The destination data storage system thereafter commands thesource storage system to take another snapshot, and requests a list ofthe data block numbers that have changed. A copy of the changed datablocks is then requested from the source data storage system by thedestination data storage system. By copying only the changed datablocks, a complete backup copy of the replicated storage volume can bemaintained on the destination data storage system, without requiringcopying the complete storage volume at each update of the backup copy.Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention do not require thatthe source data storage system have the additional intelligence andfeatures required to operate as an initiator. Instead, the source datastorage system can operate as a target by responding to commandsinitiated by the destination data storage system, or by some otherinitiator.

In accordance with further embodiments of the present invention, datareplication and other features can be performed between heterogeneousdata storage systems using a heterogeneous communication protocol. Theheterogeneous communication protocol provides a bridge between datastorage systems from different vendors, and allows heterogeneous datastorage systems to advertise and discover their respective datareplication capabilities. In order to implement the heterogeneouscommunication or bridging protocol, the vendors of different datastorage systems each use a common replication protocol. In accordancewith embodiments of the present invention, in response to a query by aremote data storage system using the heterogeneous communicationprotocol, a source data storage system can be instructed to advertise orotherwise provide information regarding its capabilities to the remotedata storage system. It should be noted that the remote data storagesystem could also be commanded to provide information regarding itscapabilities. Furthermore, data replication between heterogeneous datastorage systems can be performed with the source data storage systemoperating as a target. Although embodiments implementing a heterogeneouscommunication protocol allow replication of data from a source datastorage system operating as a target device to a remote data storagesystem operating as an initiator, it should be appreciated that theheterogeneous communication protocol can support other types ofcommunications between heterogeneous data storage systems. For example,the heterogeneous replication protocol provides for data replication ineither direction between two storage systems from the same or differentvendors.

In one embodiment, a simple heterogeneous replication protocol is asimple remote data replication protocol that provides the capability forsystems that do not inherently implement remote data replication toperform remote data replication with another system as both a source andtarget of replication data. Simple heterogeneous replication protocolmay be implemented as a cross-vendor/cross platform protocol. The systemthat does not inherently implement remote data replication implementssnapshot capability and provides the ability to map a newly createdsnapshot to a Logical Unit Number (LUN) or other type of mechanismdefined in the protocol capable of getting the data. The system alsoimplements simple heterogeneous replication protocol such that a partnersystem can query data management services capabilities (e.g., SHRP,snapshot, split mirror, replication, etc.) and issue commands to controlthe snapshot services in order to facilitate asynchronous batch(snapshot based) replication.

Additional features and advantages of embodiments of the presentinvention will become more readily apparent from the followingdescription, particularly when taken together with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram depicting components of anelectronic data system incorporating a source data storage system and aremote data storage system in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram depicting components of a data storage systemin accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram depicting components of a data storage systemin accordance with other embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram depicting components of a storage appliancein accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a block diagram depicting components of a storage controllerin accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting aspects of a data replication processin accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting aspects of a process for exchanginginformation between heterogeneous data storage systems in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary data structure of a response to adestination storage system's query command in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a snapshot is ablock level point-in-time representation of data on a storage volume.The data is essentially frozen in time at the instant that the snapshotis taken. Although data on the storage volume may change as a result ofwrite operations, the data represented by the snapshot will remainconstant and frozen in time at the instant that the snapshot was taken.In order to preserve snapshot data, a repository is used to store datathat is not otherwise represented in the storage volume and snapshotmetadata. All data and metadata associated with the snapshot is storedin the repository, although such storage on the repository is notrequired. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, datastored within the snapshot is stored in “chunks.” A chunk is equivalentto a number of logical data blocks (LBAs). As a further optimization,data may also be stored at a subchunk level. A subchunk is a fixed sizesubset of a chunk. Accordingly, data can be moved between data storagesystems 104, 108 in units of chunks, subchunks, or any multiple thereof.The units that are used for data replication operations can be selectedto optimize the performance of the network link between the data storagesystems.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an electronic data system 100 inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention incorporating afirst data storage system 104 and a second data storage system 108. Theelectronic data system 100 may also include one or more host processors,computers or computer systems 112. In addition, the electronic datasystem 100 may include or may be interconnected to an administrativecomputer 116. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art afterconsideration of the present disclosure, embodiments of the presentinvention have applications in association with single or multiple hosts112 in storage area network (SAN) or direct connect environments.

The data storage systems 104, 108 are typically interconnected to oneanother through an in-band network 120. The in-band network 120 may alsointerconnect the data storage systems 104, 108 to a host computer 112and/or an administrative computer 116. The electronic data system 100may also include an out-of-band network 124 interconnecting some or allof the electronic data system 100 nodes 104, 108, 112 and/or 116. Forexample, in a typical remote replication environment, one or more hostcomputers 112 are connected to each data storage system 104, 108. Forinstance, a first data storage system 104 is connected to a second datastorage system 108 across some distance by a Fibre Channel or a TCP/IPnetwork 120, and each of these data storage systems 104, 108 isconnected to a host computer 112 through an in-band 120 and/or anout-of-band 124 network.

The in-band or storage area network 120 generally functions to transportdata between data storage systems 104 and/or 108 and host devices 112,and can be any data pipe capable of supporting multiple initiators andtargets. Accordingly, examples of in-band networks 120 include FibreChannel (FC), iSCSI, parallel SCSI, Ethernet, ESCON, or FICONconnections or networks, which may typically be characterized by anability to transfer relatively large amounts of data at medium to highbandwidths. The out-of-band network 124 generally functions to supportthe transfer of communications and/or commands between various networknodes, such as data storage resource systems 104, 108, host devices 112,and/or administrative computers 116, although such data may also betransferred over the in-band communication network 120. Examples of anout-of-band communication network 124 include a local area network (LAN)or other transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP)network. In general, the out-of-band communication network 124 ischaracterized by an ability to interconnect disparate nodes or otherdevices through uniform user interfaces, such as a web browser.Furthermore, the out-of-band communication network may provide thepotential for globally or other widely distributed management orglobally distributed remote replication between data storage systems104, 108 via TCP/IP.

Every electronic data system node or computer 104, 108, 112 and 116,need not be interconnected to every other node or device through boththe in-band network 120 and the out-of-band network 124. For example, nohost device 112 needs to be interconnected to any other host device 112,data storage system 104, 108, or administrative computer 116 through theout-of-band communication network 124, although interconnections betweena host device 112 and other devices 104, 108, 116 through theout-of-band communication network 124 are not prohibited. As anotherexample, an administrative computer 116 may be interconnected to atleast one storage resource device 104 or 108 through the out-of-bandcommunication network 124. An administrator computer 116 may also beinterconnected to the in-band network 120 directly, although such aninterconnection is not required. For example, instead of a directconnection, an administrator computer 116 may communicate using thein-band network 120 to a controller of a data storage system 104, 108.

In general, a host computer 112 exchanges data with one or more of thedata storage systems 104, 108 in connection with the performance of theexecution of application programming, whether that applicationprogramming concerns data management or otherwise. Furthermore, anelectronic data system 100 may include multiple host computers 112. Anadministrative computer 116 may provide a user interface for controllingaspects of the operation of the storage systems 104, 108. Theadministrative computer 116 may be interconnected to the storage system104 directly, and/or through a bus or network 120 and/or 124. Inaccordance with still other embodiments of the present invention, anadministrative computer 116 may be integrated with a host computer 112.In addition, multiple administrative computers 116 may be provided aspart of the electronic data system 100. Furthermore, although only twodata storage systems 104, 108 are shown in FIG. 1, an electronic datasystem 100 may include more than two data storage systems.

FIG. 2A illustrates components that may be included in a data storagesystem 104, 108 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.In general, the data storage system 104, 108 includes a number ofstorage devices 204. Examples of storage devices 204 include hard diskdrives, such as serial advanced technology attachment (SATA), smallcomputer system interface (SCSI), serial attached SCSI (SAS), FibreChannel (FC), or parallel advanced technology attached (PATA) hard diskdrives. Other examples of storage devices 204 include magnetic tapestorage devices, optical storage devices or solid state disk devices.Furthermore, although a number of storage devices 204 are illustrated,it should be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention arenot limited to any particular number of storage devices, and that alesser or greater number of storage devices 204 may be provided as partof a data storage system 104. As can be appreciated by one of skill inthe art, one or more arrays and/or array partitions, hereinafterreferred to as logical unit numbers (LUNs) comprising a storage volume,may be established on the data storage devices 204. As used herein, anarray is understood to refer to a RAID set and the array partition. Itcan be appreciated that some subset of the array partition can berepresented as a single unit to a host. As can be further appreciated byone of skill in the art, a LUN may be implemented in accordance with anyone of the various array levels or other arrangements for storing dataon one or more storage devices 104. As can also be appreciated by one ofskill in the art, the storage devices 204 may contain data comprising amaster storage volume, which may correspond to a LUN, in addition to oneor more snapshots of the master storage volume taken at different times.As can further be appreciated by one of skill in the art, snapshots maycomprise metadata and data stored in a backing store on the storagedevices 204. As can also be appreciated by one of skill in the art, thestorage devices 204 contain data comprising a master storage volume,which may correspond to a LUN, and one or more snapshots. In oneembodiment, the snapshots may be mapped to the LUNs.

A data storage system 104, 108 in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention may be provided with a first controller slot 208 a. Inaddition, other embodiments may include additional controller slots,such as a second controller slot 208 b. As can be appreciated by one ofskill in the art, a controller slot 208 may comprise a connection or setof connections to enable a controller 212 to be operably interconnectedto other components of the data storage system 104, 108. Furthermore, adata storage system 104, 108 in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention includes at least one controller 212 a. For example,while the data storage system 104, 108 is operated in a singlecontroller, non-failover mode, the data storage system 104, 108 mayinclude exactly one controller 212. A data storage system 104, 108 inaccordance with other embodiments of the present invention may beoperated in a dual redundant active-active controller mode by providinga second controller 212 b. When a second controller 212 b is used inaddition to a first controller 212 a, the second controller slot 208 breceives the second controller. As can be appreciated by one of skill inthe art, the provision of two controllers, 212 a to 212 b, permits datato be mirrored between the controllers 212 a-212 b, providing redundantactive-active controller operation.

One or more busses or channels 216 are generally provided tointerconnect a controller or controllers 212 through the associatedcontroller slot or slots 208 to the storage devices 204. Furthermore,while illustrated as a single shared bus or channel 216, it can beappreciated that a number of dedicated and/or shared buses or channelsmay be provided. Additional components that may be included in a datastorage system 104 include one or more power supplies 128 and one ormore cooling units 132. In addition, a bus or network interface 136 maybe provided to interconnect the data storage system 104, 108 to the busor network 112, and/or to a host computer 108 or administrative computer116.

Although illustrated as a complete RAID system in FIG. 2B, it should beappreciated that the data storage system 104 can comprise one or morestorage volumes implemented in various other ways. For example, the datastorage system 104 may comprise a hard disk drive or other storagedevice 204 connected or associated with a server or a general purposecomputer. As further examples, the storage system 104 may comprise aJust a Bunch of Disks (JBOD) system or a Switched Bunch of Disks (SBOD)system.

With reference to FIG. 2B, components that may be included in a datastorage system 104, 108 in accordance with other embodiments of thepresent invention are illustrated. In general, the data storage system104, 108 according to such embodiments includes a storage appliance 220interconnecting one or more storage devices 204 to a bus or network.Furthermore, the storage appliance 220 may be inserted between a host112 or other device and one or more storage devices 204. In accordancewith still other embodiments of the present invention, a storage device204 may itself comprise a collection of hard disk drives or otherstorage devices, for example provided as part of a RAID or SBOD system.

With reference to FIG. 3A, a storage appliance 220 in connection with anembodiment of the present invention in which at least some datareplication establishment and management functions are provided bysoftware running on the storage appliance 220 interconnecting one ormore storage devices 204 to a host device 112 or other data storagesystems 104, 108 is illustrated. The components may include a processor304 a capable of executing program instructions. Accordingly, theprocessor 304 a may include any general purpose programmable processoror controller for executing application programming. Alternatively, theprocessor 304 a may comprise a specially configured application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). The processor 304 a generally functions torun programming code including a data replication application 328 a.

The host 112 or the administrative 116 computer may additionally includememory 308 a for use in connection with data replication applications.For example, the memory 308 a may store a copy of the data replicationapplication 328 a configuration instructions. The memory 308 a maycomprise solid state memory resident, removable or remote in nature,such as FLASH, DRAM and/or SDRAM.

The host 112 or the administrative 116 computer may also include datastorage 314 a for the storage of application programming and or data.For example, operating system software 318 may be stored in the datastorage 314 a. In addition, the data storage 314 a may be used to storea data replication application 328 a comprising instructions for pullingdata from a source data storage system 104 and providing the data to adestination storage volume 108 as described herein. The data replicationapplication 328 a may itself include a number of modules or components,such as a main input/output (IO) module and a restore thread or module.

The host 112 or the administrative 116 computer may also include one ormore network interfaces 332 a. For example, a first network interface332 a 1 may interconnect the storage appliance to a host device 112through a first network and a second network interface 332 a mayinterconnect the storage appliances to the storage device or devices 204that, together with the storage appliance 220, comprise a data storagesystem 104, 108. Furthermore, the first and second networks may be ofthe same type or different types, and the storage appliance 200 may be“inline” between a host device 112 and a storage device 204. Examples ofa network interface 332 a include a fiber channel (FC) interface,Ethernet, or any other type of communication interface. As can beappreciated by one of skill in the art, a network interface 332 a may beprovided in the form of a network interface card or other adapter.

FIG. 3B illustrates aspects of a storage controller 212 in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. In general, a storagecontroller 212 includes a processor subsystem 304 capable of executinginstructions for performing, implementing and or controlling variouscontroller 212 functions. Such instructions may include instructions forimplementing aspects of a snapshot restore method and apparatus.Furthermore, such instructions may be stored as software and/orfirmware. As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art, operationsconcerning the generation of parity data or other operations may beperformed using one or more hardwired and or programmable logic circuitsprovided as part of the processor subsystem 304. Accordingly, theprocessor subsystem 304 may be implemented as a number of discretecomponents, such as one or more programmable processors in combinationwith one or more logic circuits. Processor subsystem 304 may alsoinclude or be implemented as one or more integrated devices orprocessors. For example a processor subsystem may comprise a complexprogrammable logic device (LPLD).

A controller 212 also generally includes memory 306. The memory 306 isnot specifically limited to memory of any particular type. For example,the memory 306 may comprise a solid state memory device, or a number ofsolid state memory devices. In addition, the memory 306 may includeseparate volatile memory 308 and non-volatile memory 310 portions. Ascan be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the memory 306 typicallyincludes a write cache 312 and a read cache 316 that are provided aspart of the volatile memory 308 portion of the memory 306, althoughother arrangements are possible. By providing caches 312, 316, a storagecontroller 212 can improve the speed of input/output (IO) operationsbetween a host 108 and the data storage devices 204 comprising an arrayor array partition. Examples of volatile memory 308 include DRAM andSDRAM.

The non-volatile memory 310 may be used to store data that was writtento the write cache 312 of memory 306 in the event of a power outageaffecting the data storage system 104. The non-volatile memory portion310 of the storage controller memory 306 may include any type of datamemory device that is capable of retaining data without requiring powerfrom an external source. Examples of non-volatile memory 310 include,but are not limited to, compact flash or other standardized non-volatilememory devices.

The memory 306 also includes portions of the memory 306 comprising aregion 324 that provides storage for controller code 326. The controllercode 326 may comprise a number of components, including a datareplication process or application 328 comprising instructions forpulling data from a source data storage system as described herein. Thedata replication application 328 may itself include a number of modulesor components, such as a main input/output (IO) module and a restorethread or module. As shown in FIG. 3B, the controller code region 324may be established in a volatile memory 308 portion of the storagecontroller memory 306. Alternatively or in addition, controller code 326may be stored in non-volatile memory 310.

A storage controller 212 may additionally include other components. Forexample, a bus and/or network interface 332 may be provided for operablyinterconnecting the storage controller 212 to the remainder of the datastorage system 104, for example through a controller slot 208 and a busor channel 216. Furthermore, the interface 332 may be configured tofacilitate removal or replacement of the storage controller 212 in acontroller slot 208 as a field replaceable unit (FRU). In addition,integral signal and power channels may be provided for interconnectingthe various components of the storage controller 212 to one another.

With reference to FIG. 4, a process for replicating data stored on asource data storage system 104 to a destination data storage system 108,in which the source data storage system 104 has the attributes of atarget device, are illustrated. Initially, at step 404, the destinationdata storage system 108 or a storage appliance (hereinafter referred toas the initiator) commands the source data storage system 104 to take asnapshot of the master storage volume maintained by the source datastorage system 104 (or of some specified storage volume maintained bythe source data storage system 104). As used herein, a snapshot is avirtual volume that represents the data that existed on the masterstorage volume at the point in time that the snapshot was taken. Themaster storage volume is the current set of data maintained on thesource data storage system 104. The master storage volume may correspondto a standard RAID volume or LUN. The initiator then commands the sourcedata storage system 104 to map the snapshot to a LUN and to make the LUNvisible to the initiator (step 408). All of the blocks of data in thesnapshot are then read by the destination data storage system 108 (or byanother device acting as the initiator), and the data is copied to thedestination data storage system (e.g., the second data storage system108)(step 412). As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art afterconsideration of the present disclosure, copying the data to thedestination storage system 108 generally comprises storing the data indata storage devices 204 that are local to or associated with thedestination data storage system 108.

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present invention,rather than transferring all data blocks from the source data storagesystem 104 to the destination data storage system 108, it may bepossible to perform a hash operation on a range of blocks on the sourcedata storage system 104 and the destination data storage system 108 inorder to create as hash list. The hash list can then be transferred fromthe source data storage system 104 to the destination data storagesystem 108. If the hash key for a range of disk blocks on the sourcedata storage system 104 is identical to the hash key for the same rangeof blocks on the destination data storage system 108, then it is notnecessary to transfer the data blocks. The hash algorithm facilitateseffective use of the bandwidth of the asynchronous link between thelocal and remote systems.

At step 416, the destination data storage system 108 takes a snapshot ofthe data copied from the source data storage system 104. Both datastorage systems therefore have identical copies of data and a snapshotof the data from the same point in time after this step is completed. Itshould be noted that the same algorithm can be used to copy any volume,even if not snapped, so long as the source volume is not being writtento during the copy. This results in a destination initiated volume copy.

At step 420, the initiator commands the source data storage system 104to take another snapshot of the master storage volume. The initiatorthen commands the source data storage system 104 to map this snapshot toa LUN and to make the LUN visible to the destination data storage system108 (step 424).

The initiator next commands the source data storage system 104 toprovide a list of the changes (i.e. the delta data) between the currentsnapshot and the previous snapshot (step 428). Using the provided list,the initiator then reads the blocks in the list from the source system,and copies the data to the local data storage (step 432). Thedestination data storage system 108 then takes a snapshot of the datanow stored in the local data storage (step 436). The source 104 anddestination 108 data storage systems thus have identical snapshots orcopies of the master data storage volume on the source data storagesystem 104, at the time the first snapshot was taken, and at the timethe second snapshot was taken. If desired, earlier snapshots can bedeleted from one or both of the data storage systems 104, 108, forexample if it is considered unimportant to maintain a number of restorepoints for the master storage volume.

At step 440, a determination can be made as to whether the copy of themaster storage volume on the destination storage device 108 should beupdated. If it is determined that an update should be performed, theprocess may return to step 420. If no further updates are required, theprocess may end. In accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention, copies of the master storage volume are made periodically.For example, an updated copy of the master storage volume can be takenevery 10 minutes.

As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art after consideration ofthe present disclosure, data can be replicated from a source datastorage system 104, even if the source data storage system 104 does notprovide native support for data replication to another data storagesystem 108. In addition, the source data storage system 104 does notneed to act as an initiator in connection with replicating stored data.Instead, the source data system 104 can operate as a target device. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention where the sourcedata storage system 104 is not an initiator, in order to provide datareplication as described, the source data storage system 104 should beable to respond to commands to take snapshots, to map a snapshot to aLUN, and provide lists of LBAs that contain data (or changed data forsubsequent copies). Furthermore, it can be appreciated that, followingthe transfer of the initial snapshot data comprising a complete copy ofthe data in the source's master storage volume, only the changed dataneeds to be transferred in order to establish an updated copy of themaster storage volume on the destination storage device.

These commands necessary to perform data replication may be communicatedusing a simple communication protocol. In accordance with still otherembodiments of the present invention, a simple bridging communicationprotocol may be provided that enables these and other functions to beperformed between data storage systems 104, 108 from different vendors(i.e. between heterogeneous data storage systems). Accordingly, thesimple bridging protocol may comprise a set of commands recognized bydata storage system 104, 108 sourced from different vendors. The simplebridging protocol may be provided to different vendors, in order tofacilitate communications necessary in order to replicate data orperforming other functions or services, for example betweenheterogeneous data storage systems. As a further example, a destinationdata storage system 108 may communicate with a source communicationsystem 104 that natively supports a different native communicationprotocol, in order to perform data replication as described herein.Therefore, a source data storage system 104 from a different vendor thanthe destination data storage system 108 need not be provided with anyextra intelligence in order to provide data replication in cooperationwith the destination data storage system 108, other than an ability totake snapshots and respond to commands expressed in the simple bridgingprotocol.

As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art after consideration ofthe present disclosure, the simple bridging protocol is not limited touse in connection with pulling data from a source data storage system104 operating as a target. For example, the simple bridging protocol canbe used to allow a source data storage system 104 to act as an initiatorand the destination data storage system 108 to act as a target inconnection with data replication operations. For instance, using thesimple bridging protocol, the source data storage system 104 (operatingas an initiator) replicates data to a volume on the destination storagesystem 108 and commands the destination storage system 108 (operating asa target) to take a snapshot of that volume.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, and withreference to FIG. 5, a process for providing and using a simple bridgingprotocol comprises loading the protocol into a source data storagesystem 104 and into a destination storage system 108 (step 504). Theprotocol may be loaded onto the storage systems 104, 108 as a softwareplug-in or may already be resident within firmware of the data storagesystems 104, 108. A query for replication capabilities is then issued bythe data storage system 104 or 108 operating as an initiator to the datastorage systems 104 or 108 operating as a target (step 508).Alternatively, the query may be issued by another initiator in theelectronic data system 100. This query may be issued using the simplebridging protocol.

In response to the query, the data storage system 104 or 108 operatingas a target device provides capability information (step 512). Thecapability information may comprise data storage system 104 or 108 datamanagement services capabilities, such as snapshot capabilities, theability to act as an initiator, remote data replication capabilities,storage volume naming capabilities, snapshot volume naming capabilities,storage volume mapping capabilities, snapshot volume mappingcapabilities, etc. The data storage system 104 or 108 acting as theinitiator, or some other initiator in the electronic data system 100,then uses the capability information to determine how to effect datareplication between the source data storage system 104 and thedestination data storage system 108 (step 516).

By providing or advertising capability information in response to aquery, a system using the simple bridging protocol is not limited to anyfixed set of features. Accordingly, as features are added to versions ofa data storage system 104 or 108, those added features may be reportedto the data storage systems 104 or 108 or other components of anelectronic data storage system 100 and can be made available to thoseother components.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary data structure of a response to adestination storage system's 108 query command in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. The response to a query commandgenerally comprises, without limitation, snapshot capability information604, remote data replication capability information 608, storage volumenaming capability information 612, snapshot volume naming capabilityinformation 616, and other volume, snapshot and/or storage systemcharacteristic information 620. When the destination data storage system108 receives the information describing the source data storage system's104 capabilities, the destination data storage system 108 can determinewhat types and methods of remote data replication can be employed toreplicate data to/from the source data storage system 104.

The shapshot capability information 604 may include the number ofsupported snapshots for the entire storage system and/or on a per volumebasis and how those snapshots are characterized. For example somesnapshots may be fully allocated whereas other shapshots may be sparsesnapshots and others may be both. Additionally, the snapshot capabilityinformation 604 may include snapshot naming formats for snapshots on thesystem.

Information included as a part of the remote data replicationcapabilities 608 may include, for example, whether remote replication issupported on the source data storage system 104, and if remotereplication is supported what types of remote replication are supported(e.g., transactional asynchronous, batch asynchronous, synchronous, CDP,or any other type of data replication protocol known in the art). Theremote data replication capability information 608 may further indicatewhether the replying system is capably of acting as a remote replicationtarget and/or as an initiator. This essentially indicates whether thereplying system is enabled to operate in a target mode and/or aninitiator mode. Additionally, the remote data replication capabilityinformation 608 may indicate what type of support the replying systemhas for a pull data replication model (if any). Also, the number ofremote targets supported per storage volume and if remote replicationchaining is supported may be included in the remote data replicationcapability information 608.

Storage volume naming capabilities 612 may include the protocol used tosupport volume naming, the maximum number of characters allowed in astorage volume name, the minimum number of characters allowed in astorage volume name, and so on. By providing storage volume namingcapabilities 612, the destination data storage system 108 can namestorage volumes as they would be named in the source data storage system104, or at least be aware of the naming schemes in the source datastorage system 104.

Similar to storage volume naming capabilities 612, the replying systemmay identify how snapshots are named by providing snapshot volume namingcapabilities 616. The snapshot volume naming capabilities 616 mayinclude, for instance, the maximum number of characters in a snapshotvolume name, the minimum number of characters in a snapshot volume name,and any off limits characters in a snapshot volume name.

As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art, additional informationmay be provided by the replying system in the other volume, snapshot,and/or storage system characteristics information field 620. Data storedin this particular field may include, without limitation, storage systemconfiguration information, the number of storage volumes in use, and anystate information related to the storage system, volume, and/orsnapshots.

As can be appreciated, any reliable communication protocol may be usedas the bridging protocol to provide communication capabilities betweenstorage systems 104, 108. The bridge communication protocol used betweenthe storage systems 104, 108 in some embodiments may include FibreChannel and/or iSCSI. The use of iSCSI as the bridge protocol may affordthe use of SCSI Command Descriptor Blocks (CDBs) to transfer commands,data, and responses between storage systems 104, 108. The communicationprotocol, in one embodiment, is vendor specific and uses SCSISend/Receive Diagnostics, Read/Write Buffer, and/or vendor specific SCSIoperation codes. Of course, it is important to note that even though theprotocol can be based upon SCSI, reliance on SCSI as a data transportmechanism is not a requirement of the present invention.

To perform remote replication in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention, the destination data storage system 108 issuescommands to a source data storage system 104 requesting the source datastorage system 104 perform certain tasks (e.g., take snapshots, mapsnapshots to host LUNs, etc.). The source data storage system 104responds to received commands, performs the requested tasks, and returnsthe appropriate response. The bridging protocol affords forcommunications between different types of storage systems. Command setsthat may be included as a part of the bridging protocol include, but arenot limited to, creating and naming of snapshots, deletion of snapshots,establishment of remote data replication characteristics/parameters,initiation and termination of remote data replication, naming of remotestorage volumes, naming of remote snapshot volumes, mapping of remotestorage volumes to a LUN, and mapping of remote snapshot volumes to aLUN.

The create and name a snapshot command is generally used by thedestination data storage system 108 to request the source data storagesystem 104 to take a snapshot of the volume that is targeted during thereplication process. The snapshot delete command is used to deletesnapshots on the source data storage system 104 in order to free-upadditional storage resources.

When the destination data storage system 108 issues a remote datareplication characteristic/parameter command, it is essentially askingthe source data storage system 104 to provide its replicationcharacteristics, which will ultimately determine how the replicationprocess will proceed between the storage systems 104, 108.

The initiation and termination commands are generally used by thedestination data storage system 108 to specify that replication isstarting or terminating at a particular source data storage system 104.Alternatively, the initiation and termination commands may be used tospecify when the replication process should start/end.

Storage volume naming commands may be used by the destination datastorage system 108 to name or change the name of a source data storagevolume. Likewise, snapshot naming commands may be used by thedestination data storage system 108 to name or change the name of asnapshot volume and may be included as a part of the storage volumenaming command.

The command to map a storage volume to a LUN is generally used by thedestination data storage system 108 to have the source data storagesystem 104 map a storage volume to a LUN. Similarly, the destinationdata storage system 108 may use a map snapshot volume to LUN command tohave the source data storage system 104 map one or more snapshots to aLUN. Also, the map snapshot volume to LUN command may be included in themap storage volume to LUN command.

The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description. Furthermore, the descriptionis not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein.Consequently, variations and modifications commensurate with the aboveteachings, within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art, arewithin the scope of the present invention. The embodiments describedhereinabove are further intended to explain the best modes presentlyknown of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in theart to utilize the invention in such, or in other embodiments, and withthe various modifications required by their particular application oruse of the invention. It is intended that the appended claims beconstrued to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted bythe prior art.

1. A method of communicating between data storage devices, comprising: afirst data storage system using a first communication protocol tocommunicate with a first set of devices; at least a second data storagesystem using a second communication protocol to communicate with asecond set of devices; employing a bridge communication protocol thatthat is used by both the first and the at least a second data storagesystem; and the first data storage system communicating with the atleast a second data storage system via the bridge communicationprotocol.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the first datastorage system requesting capability information from the at least asecond data storage system related to the second communication protocol;the at least a second data storage system sending capability informationrelated to the second communication protocol to the first data storagesystem in response to the request of the first data storage system; thefirst data storage system receiving the capability information relatedto the second communication protocol from the at least a second datastorage system; and adapting the bridge communication protocol such thatthe first data storage system is operable to communicate with the atleast a second data storage system.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereincapability information comprises at least one of snapshot capabilities,remote data capabilities, storage volume naming capabilities, snapshotvolume naming capabilities, storage volume mapping capabilities, andsnapshot volume mapping capabilities.
 4. The method of claim 2, whereinthe first data storage system utilizes the bridge communication protocolto request the capability information from the at least a second datastorage system.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: the firstand at least a second data storage systems advertising capabilityinformation of the communication protocol used by each respective datastorage system; and the bridge communication protocol altering such thatthe first data storage system is operable to communicate with the atleast a second data storage system.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising a third initiator device querying the first and at least asecond data storage system for their respective capability information.7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: updating at least one ofthe first and second communication protocols used by the first and atleast a second data storage system; and updating the bridgecommunication protocol to reflect the updates of the at least one of thefirst and second communication protocols.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the first data storage system is associated with a first vendorand the at least a second data storage system is associated with asecond different vendor.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the bridgecommunication protocol is used by the first data storage system torequest the at least a second data storage system to perform at leastone of the following commands, (i) take a snapshot, (ii), make thesnapshot viewable, (iii) map a snapshot to a Logical Unit Number (LUN),and (iv) provide delta data between two snapshots.
 10. An electronicdata system, comprising: first data storage means having a first set ofcommunication capabilities that allow the first data storage means tocommunicate with a first set of devices; second data storage meanshaving a second set of communication capabilities that allow the seconddata storage system to communicate with a second set of devices; andbridging means providing communication capabilities between the firstand second data storage means.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein thefirst data storage means is operable to request capability informationfrom the second data storage means related to the second set ofcommunication capabilities, the second data storage means is operable tosend capability information related to the second set of communicationcapabilities to the first data storage means in response to the request,the first data storage means is then operable to receive the capabilityinformation related to the second set of communication capabilities andadapt the bridging means such that the first data storage means isoperable to communicate with the second data storage means.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the first data storage means utilizes thebridge communication protocol to request the capability information fromthe second data storage means.
 13. The system of claim 10, whereincommunication capabilities comprise at least one of snapshotcapabilities, remote data capabilities, storage volume namingcapabilities, snapshot volume-naming capabilities, storage volumemapping capabilities, and snapshot volume mapping capabilities.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein in response to the communicationcapabilities of at least one of the first and second storage means beingupdated, the bridging means is updated to reflect the updates of thecommunication capabilities of at least one of the first and secondstorage means.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the bridging means isused by the first data storage means to request the second data storagemeans to perform at least one of the following commands, (i) take asnapshot, (ii), make the snapshot viewable, and (iii) provide a list ofLogical Data Block Addresses (LBAs) that contain data.
 16. A device foruse in conjunction with data storage, comprising: an interface forcommunicating with at least a first data storage system comprising afirst set of communication capabilities that allow the first datastorage system to communicate with a first set of devices; and aprocessor operable to employ a bridge communication protocol that allowsa second data storage system to communicate with the first data storagesystem, wherein the second data storage system comprises a second set ofcommunication capabilities that allow the second data storage system tocommunicate with a second set of devices.
 17. The device of claim 16,wherein the processor is further operable to generate a request forcapability information from the first data storage system related to thefirst set of communication capabilities, and adapt the bridgecommunication protocol upon receipt of capability information such thatthe first data storage system is operable to communicate with the seconddata storage system.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein bridgecommunication protocol is utilized to request the capability informationfrom the first data storage system.
 19. The device of claim 16, whereinthe bridge communication protocol is used by the first data storagesystem to request the second data storage system to perform at least oneof the following commands, (i) take a snapshot, (ii), make the snapshotviewable, (iii) map a snapshot to a Logical Unit Number (LUN), and (iv)provide delta data between two specified snapshots.
 20. The device ofclaim 16, wherein the bridge communication protocol is employed by atleast one of a data storage device and storage appliance.